Wizards vs Vampires
by Dragavon
Summary: After losing the second wizard competition to his sister, Justin has nothing left. But fate decides it's not done with him just yet. AU, Jalex
1. Prologue

It was wrong. Intellectually he knew that. It was wrong and stupid and absurd and a dozen other different words that were all variations of wrong. Unfortunately his heart completely ignored his head. He was in love with her. And it was wrong.

What was worse was that it was pointless. The image of her hugging Greyback, happy that she had just become the family wizard just reinforced that. She was the one touched by fate to do something extraordinary. She was the one who would live for centuries and see things most of the world did not know even existed. He was the one fated to grow old and die. The fact that he had another fifty years left to live if everything went well did not even matter. She would spend centuries with Greyback and he would die after a pointless existence.

Juliet was saying something. What was it? Whatever it was, it was irrelevant. He quickly reviewed her last couple of sentences that his brain had heard but his mind had ignored. Something about it not being the end of the world. But it was. The end of his world. She had also said something about even if they could not be together, she would still love him. At least that part was easier to take. He didn't love her and this was the best way to for them not to be together.

He let her lead him back out of the Wizard Competition room, through the Family, actually correct that Alex's lair, out the Sub Shop and into the streets of New York. She kept walking and talking and he kept following and pretending to pay attention while he went through his existential crisis. What was he supposed to do now? Yes he was a college graduate but that was not what he had prepared for. He was no longer a wizard, no longer a monster hunter. He was just plain old Justin Russo. He wasn't even the guy who got the Sub Shop because Max needed that. He would have to get a job, get an apartment, get a better job, get a house, get a mortgage, get a wife, get a better job, get 2.5 kids, get a dog, and then get a burial plot. He was no longer special, just another one of the teeming masses. The inanity of his future life flashed before his eyes. And it started suffocating him already. Working nine to five for another forty-five years while his hard work made his bosses richer and the government took more and more of his money did not seem a sufficient reason to continue. He had lost Alex, lost everything that made him special, lost his glorious future. In fact he had lost everything that mattered in one fell swoop. But he didn't have another choice. Did he?

Suddenly he realized that Juliet had stopped. They were in Central Park and she was nattering on about something else and he realized he just didn't care. Not only about what she was saying but about everything. He didn't care about the future, he didn't care about what he was supposed to do or where he was supposed to be. He didn't even care whether he lived or died.

Juliet was looking at him expecting a response. Did it make a difference anymore? He smiled sadly and prepared for her to leave him. But she started kissing him. Long ago that would have made him nervous or excited or happy or something. Now he felt absolutely nothing like the nothingness that was going to be his life for however long he lived. She was kissing him passionately so she must have wanted one last make out session before they parted forever. He just wanted this over with.

She kissed his lips and the corner of his mouth and proceeded to wander all over his face, not even realizing how little effort he was making in reciprocating. Lamentably, the part of him that didn't care if he lived or died was in control. It had to be. Why else would he think of Alex and whisper her name while making out with Juliet. Sadly, he had just enough time to realize his mistake when Juliet reared back. Her eyes suddenly became red with blood and her fangs extended and she screamed in anger. Even as she dove for his throat, he realized he didn't care enough to defend himself. So she would murder him, so what? Couldn't be worse than the life destiny had planned for him. He had one brief excruciating moment of pain before mercifully everything went to black…


	2. Chapter 1

He awoke with a start, confused over where he was and thirsty beyond belief. There was a dull ache in his mouth like he had a tooth pulled and the anesthetic was just wearing off. Where was he and how had he gotten here? He looked around and suddenly realized he was in Central Park. But how had he gotten here? The last clear memory he remembered was losing the Competition to Alex. Something had happened but it was all a muddled fog.

He walked over to the water's edge to grab a drink of water. Maybe that would slake his thirst. As he dipped his hand into the water, and brought it to his face, he got a whiff of some smell emanating from the water. He recoiled at the pungent smell of algae and rot coming from the water in his hand. He quickly dumped the water and resolved to tolerate the thirst until he found a water fountain or a place that would sell him a water bottle.

Finally paying attention to his surroundings he noticed that despite it being day, Central Park was relatively empty, which was utterly strange. For this time of day, there should have been a lot more happening. Maybe they had closed part of the Park off for some reason. Something to worry about later after he dealt with his thirst which was getting worse.

Orienting himself with where he estimated himself to be in the Park, he set off in a straight line to Waverly Place. It was a couple of miles but he figured he could do that with no problem. When he left the leafy canopy of the Park, however he stopped and stared at the sky. Everything looked utterly wrong. It was very bright now, the sky all strange with the stars and the sun shining improbably together. Which was impossible unless someone had used magic. Yet all the people walking by didn't seem the least perturbed by the astronomical impossibility.

They were staring at him with some consternation. And a few people were actually crossing the street to avoid him. He looked down at himself. Aside from some dirt and leaves on his clothes, he could not see anything wrong with him that could cause such a peculiar reaction. Catching sight of a store that sold furniture, he rushed to the window so he could examine himself in the mirror.

As soon as he stopped in front of the store, and stared into the mirrors, fear began spreading through his body. He could not see himself in the any of the mirrors no matter how he positioned his body. He stared with the icy shock of comprehension at the empty glass as his memory began flooding back. He quickly touched his throat and found it undamaged. Unfortunately he could not feel a pulse in his neck and when he removed his hand, he found it covered in dried blood. So that's what had been creeping out the people around him. He must look scary, with his clothes covered in dirt and leaves and blood drying on his throat.

His disheveled appearance was the least of his problems as he realized he was no longer among the living. He was dead but unlike all the other corpses in the world, he did not have the common sense to lie there and decompose. The last thought made him giggle to himself hysterically and forced the people around him to change their movement speeds from a leisurely walk to a quick jog so as to get away from the bloody lunatic laughing at nothing.

The next thought running through his mind was that while he was thirsty, he was not in the mood for water or juice or a soft drink or anything that a normal person would be thirsty for. His mind shied away from the concept of what exactly he was thirsty for as he had always had a fear of blood. The thought of a hemophobic vampire nearly started another round of giggles that he was forced to suppress. He wondered if his mind had broken under the onslaught of the last few days because he was laughing over the atrocity that his life had become.

Forcing himself to ignore everything, he started running in the direction of Waverly Place. He realized that he was instinctively moving at a speed that only appeared as a blur to mortals. That was helpful. It would get him to Alex faster so she would be able to reverse the curse. Strike that. The thought of Alex trying to do something so complicated that would probably end up with his body mangled horribly made him decide that maybe Professor Crumbs could reverse the curse. He had to again suppress the snigger running through his body as he realized he was inadvertently rhyming.

He quickly arrived at Waverly place and stared at consternation at the locked door to the Waverly Sub Shop. Before he had lost his powers, he could have just walked through the wall or teleported himself in or done more than a few things to bypass a simple lock. Now that he was mortal what was he supposed to do?

It finally occurred to him that he must have some advantages as a vampire. He knew Juliet had been able to shapeshift somewhat, but he had no intention of turning his useful hands with their opposable thumbs into wings. Especially since he did not know if he could turn them back. His other advantage was to maybe jump to the fire escape and sneak into his bedroom? Strike that, Alex's bedroom. He had always kept his window closed so as to minimize the possibility of someone breaking in. He never imagined that he would have to be the one breaking in.

He jumped easily to the fire escape and made his way to the second floor. There was Alex lying in her bed, fast asleep, with the windows open. He had told her time and again to close the windows, but she had time and again ignored him. This was the first time he thanked her stubborn streak. Unfortunately as he tried to climb in her window, a barrier prevented him from reaching in. There seemed to be an invisible force field that actively hampered him from entering. At first he thought she had wisened up and used a spell but that seemed to be forward thinking that Alex was not usually known for. That was usually his responsibility. Her forte was quick adaptation to changing circumstances.

He had heard rumors that vampires could not enter houses or dwellings without being invited. But he had never asked Juliet if that was true or even tested it out. He would have to wake up Alex and either have her invite him in or let down the barrier if it was a spell. He was about to call out to Alex to wake her up when all of a sudden something caught his attention.

He could hear her heart and lungs thundering like a train even while she was asleep. The vein on her neck was suddenly the most fascinating thing he had ever seen in his life. He could imagine kissing that beautiful long elegant throat, peppering kisses all along it, biting into that delicious vein and... He recoiled in shock and almost fell off the fire escape. He had imagined tearing into his sister's throat and sucking her blood until it was all gone.

He sat down with a thump and put his head into his hands, moaning softly. What was wrong with him? He had had fantasies about his sister but nothing that involved murdering her. They had all been the sensual kind where she had pissed him off and he had taken his revenge by gently ravaging her.

He quickly got up and climbed to the edge of the fire escape, determined to flee as far as possible from her, when out of nowhere something solid slammed into his body...


End file.
